Automatic speed change gearing



plfil 11,1944. W A DUFFlELD 2,346,365

AUTOMATIC SPEED CHANGE GEARING` Filed 0G11. 5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EN E .E E

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. s, 1942 Patented Apr. 11, 1944 AUTOMATIC SPEED CHANGE GEARING William A. Duilield, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

assignor to Windiields,

Limited, Montreal,

" Quebec, Canada, a corporation of Canada Application October 3, 1942, Serial No. 460,612

10 Claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a speedy varying transmission of the epicyclic type which will provide for four speeds forward and one reverse, wherein the translations from one forward speed to the next forward speed, either up or down, will be. automatic.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Fig. 1 is an axial section of an embodiment of my invention; and

` Fig. 2, a transverse section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

In `the drawings I indicates a liquidcoupling impeller adapted to be attached to the input shaft II. Coaxial with impeller III is a shaft I2 upon which is journalled the first runner I3 associated with shaft I2 through the medium of an overrunning clutch I4 which will permit forward over-running of shaft I2 relative to runner I3. Journalled upon shaft I2 is a sleeve shaft I5 upon the inner end of which is iournalled the second runner I8 associated with sleeve shaft I5 through the medium of an overrunning clutch I 'I which will permit forward overrunning o1' sleeve shaft I5 relative to runner I6.

Journalled upon the inner end of sleeve shaft I5 is a second sleeve shaft I8, the inner end of which carries the third runner I9. The impeller I0 and runners I3, I6 and I9 are provided with varied passages, in a well known manner, which will permit flow of coupling liquid from impeller I0 through impellers I3, I6, I9, I6, I3 back to impeller I0.

yShaft I2 carries a first sun gear 20, sleeve shaft I5 carries a second sun gear 2|. Journalled on sleeve shaft I5 is a sleeve shaft I8 provided with a third sun gear 22.

The ilrst, second and third sun gears are, respectively, in mesh with gears 20', 2|' and 22' of a planetary gear P journalled on the planetary pin 23 carried by gear carrier 24, the axis of which is coaxial with the several sun gears. Re-

' verse rotation of carrier 24 is prevented -by a one-way clutch 25 interposed between a sleeve 26 carried by drum 28' and a ring 28 carried by carrier 24. Drum 28' may be held against rotation by means of a brake band 29.

'Ihe outer end of shaft I2 is journalled in an axial pocket 30 in the inner end of the output shaft 3| and secured to the inner end of said output shaft is a fourth sun gear 32 which meshes with a gear 33 which is integrated with the planetary gear P.

At an intermediate point in its length, output shaft 3l is provided with a circumferential flange 35 over which is sleeved a clutch casing 36 between which and carrier 24 are interposed a plurality of interdigltated friction rings 31. Interposed between casing 36 and flange 35 are springs 38 which act to yieldingly urge casing 3-6 to the position shown in Fig. 1 against stop nuts 39 threaded upon pins 40 carried 'by ange 35. Within casing 3'6 is a pressure ring 4I and interposed between said pressure ring and flange v35 are toggles T, each of which is carried by the weighted end of a bell crank lever 42 in such manner that when said weighted ends move outwardly under the influence of rotation of the output shaft, the toggles T will serve to clamp pressure ring 4I upon the friction rings 31 so as to clutch the output shaft to the carrier 24. The gear 32 is provided with a sleeve hub 45 having clutch teeth v46 upon its periphery to receive mating clutch teeth formed in the bore of a spider 46' provided with a plurality of radiating arms 41, each of which projects into a diametrical slot of a pin 48 Journalled in a pocket formed in the short arm of the adjacent bell crank 1ever 42. The long arms of the levers 42 are weighted and these levers are pivoted on planetary pins 35 carried by flange 35.

Spider 46' is provided with a plurality of perforations 49 adapted to receive pins 50 which are projected into perforations 5I in flange 35 and are carried by a sliding collar 52 sleeved upon the output shaft 3| and axially slidable, by manually controlled means not shown, so that pins 50 may be projected into spider 46 to lock it against oscillation relative to the output shaft, or to permit such oscillation.

Keyed to and connecting sleeve shafts I8 and I8' is a drum 60 which maybe held against rotation by manually controlled brake band 5I.

Forward operation is as follows:

Impeller I0 acting on runner I3 drives it forwardly and the flow of power is through gears 20, 20', 33, 32, spider 45', arms 41, levers 42, pins 35' and flange35 to produce low forward speed of the output shaft 2|, carrier 24 being held against reverse rotation by the action of clutch 25 on drum 28 which is restrained by brake 29. At this time, gear 2|' acting on gear 2| forwardly rotates sleeve I5, and gear 22' acting on gear 22 rotates runner I9 forwardly at a speed considerably lower than that of the first runner I3. Runner I6 is also advanced by the coupling fluid but at a lower speed than that of runner I3.

In course of time, however, load torque decreases and runner I5 attacks sleeve I5 through :clutch il whereupon second forward speed is tween load torque and engine torque the driving effort Von the third runner i9 becomes sumcient -to establish third speed forward where the ow of power is through geared?, 22', 38, 32, etc., as in first and second forward, shaft i2 continuing to underrun runner is and sleeve shaft it underrunning impeller it by reason of clutch i?,

During the periods the load torque is sufcient to restrain levers d2 against suiiicient outward movement to activate toggles T, but when differential between load torque and engine torque suf- I flciently decreases, forward rotation of the output shaft increases enough to cause levers 42 to activate toggles 'I' to clutch output shaft 3| to can'ier 2 and thus establish direct drive at high speed. At this time all three runners are acting upon their respective sun gears and carrier 24 is rotating in unison with the output shaft.

Upon increase of load' torque, the gearing will drop successively to 3rd, 2nd, and 1st relation- .ships as may be required. The shifting from one relationship, higher or lower, will be entirely au- Sun gear 22 (as well as runner le) is thus held f tomatic, according to the load, without any required manipulation by the operator.

For reverse rotation of the output shaft, drum 23' is released, drum 601s held by brake 8l and spider d6' locked to the output shaft by pins 5d.

stationary and the ow of power is from runner iii through shaft i2, gears 2o and 2B', causing gear 22 to roll on stationary gears 22 tc produce reverse rotatibn of carrier 2li.

Rotation of gear .t3 tends to exert a forward driving edect on the output shaft through gear 32 but the planetary movement of this gear 33 iii-reverse revolution has a greater eect upon gear d2 and thus causes it, through spider de i" and pins t, to reversely rotate the output shaft.

It is to be noted that the three input sun gears l 2li, 2l and 22 and the means for applying power thereto, are so arranged that whenever the load .torque applied thereto results in a sun gear speed no greater than that of the power-applying means for that gear, said power-applying means is im- :mediately and automatically effective on that particular sun gear. Therefore, means other than a multi-runner fluid coupling may be uti- N iized to apply power to sun gears 2U, 2i, 22 without departing from that portion of my invention which'relates to the epicyclic gearing itself.

It should be noted that input engine torque is v at all times being applied to runners i3, i6 and ld.

Consequently, when toggle T acts to unify carrier 2d and the output shaft 3l, the load torque is immediately impressed on runner i3 but as soon as output shaft speed drops enough to permit retraction of the toggle T the load torque shifts from runner i3 to runner it, and thence to runner It, provided the differential between load torque and engine torque increases, and thence to runner i3, upon further increase of that differential. v I claim as my invention:

1. Epicyclic speed change gearing comprising a power receiving shaft carrying a first sun gear, a

power-receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over said first shaft and carrying a second sun gear, a second 1 "power-receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over the rst lo aseases sleeve shaft and carrying a third sun gear, a fourth `sun gear, an output shaft coaxial with all said sun gears, a driving connection between the fourth sun gear and the output shaft, a planetary carrier coaxial with said gears and shafts. means for blocking reverse rotation of said carrier, means for connecting the planetary carrier and output shaft, a planetary gear unit of relatively immovable gears joux'nalled on said carrier and comprising four sets of gear teeth of diderent diameters and meshing, respectively, with the four sun gears.

2. Epicyclic speed change gearing comprising a power receiving shaft carrying a first sun gear, a power receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over said first-mentioned shaft and carrying a second sun gear, a power receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over the first-mentioned sleeve shaft and carrying a third sun gear,v an output shaft, a fourth sun gear oscillatable on said output shaft, a planetary carrier coaxial with said shafts and gears, a planetary gear unit journalled on said carrier and comprising four sets of gear teeth of varying diameters respectively meshing with the four sun gears, means for preventing reverse rotation of said carrier, a clutching means interposed between said planetary carrierand the output shaft,

a speed sensitive actuator for said clutching means carried` by the output shaft, and a connection between the fourth sun gear and said actuator opposing response of said actuator to increase of speed of the output shaft.

3. Apparatus of the character specified in claim 1 and including controllable means for holding the third sun gear against rotation.

4. Apparatus of the character specified in claim 2 and including controllable means for holding the third sun gear against rotation, and means for blocking operation of the clutch actuator.

5. Apparatus of the character specified in claim 1 and including a fluid coupling comprising an impeller, a first runner, a one-Way clutch between said i'lrst runner and the first-mentioned shaft permitting overrunnng of said shaft relative to said runner, a second runner, a one-way clutching connection between said second runner and the first-mentioned sleeve shaft permitting overrunning of said sleeve shaft relative to said runner, and a third runner carried by the second sleeve shaft.

6. Apparatus of the character speciiied in claim 2 and including a iiuid coupling comprising an impeller, a first runner, a one-way clutch be tween said iirst runner and the rst-mentioned shaft permitting overrunning of saidshaft relative to said runner, a second runner, a one-way clutching connection between said second runner and the first-mentioned sleeve shaft permitting overrunning of said sleeve shaft relative to said runner, and a third runner carried by the second sleeve shaft.

7. Epicyclic speed change gearing comprising a power-receiving shaft carrying a first sun gear, a power-receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over said rst shaft and carrying a second sun gear larger than the first sun gear, a second power-receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over the first sleeve shaft and carrying a third sun gear larger than the second sun gear, a fourth sun gear larger than the third sun gear. an output shaft coaxial with all said sun gears, a driving connection between said fourth sun gear and output shaft, a planetary carrier coaxial with said sun gear, means for blocking reverse rotation of said carrier, means overrunning of said sleeve shaft relative to said runner, and a third rimner carried by the second sleeve shaft.

9. Epicyclic speedV change gearing comprising a power receiving shaft carrying a first sun gear, a power-receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over said first shaft and carrying a second sun gear, a second power-receiving sleeve shaft sleeved over the first sleeve shaft and carrying a thirdI sun gear, a fourth sun gear. an output shaft coaxial tween the fourth sun gear and the output shaft.

a planetary carrier coaxial with said gears and l shafts, means for blocking reverse rotation of said carrier, means for connecting the planetary carrier and output shaft, a planetary gear unit .of relatively immovable gears Journalled on said carrier and comprising four sets of gear teeth of different diameters and meshing, respectively, with the four sun gears, a primary power delivering element, and three non-connectible secondary power delivering elements arranged in series and connected respectively with the rst, second and third sun gears, the rst secondary element receiving power from the primary power delivering element. the second secondary element receiving power from the first secondary element, and the third secondary element receiving power from the second secondary element.

10. Apparatus of the character specified in claim 9 and including controllable means for holding 'the third sun gear against rotation.

' WILLIAM A. DUFFIEZLD.

.3 with all sal-dreun gears, a driving connection be- 

